Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.04 Per Share

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94.

Eaton has a payout ratio of 31.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Eaton to earn $13.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.8%.

Eaton Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ETN opened at $293.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $326.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ETN. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.05.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Company Profile

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company’s Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.